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Research has shown, for example that watching a horror film on television
triggers the release of higher levels of stress hormones. In realisty we are not at
threat from a vampire, but our fearful thoughts trigger the fight/flight response.
On the other hand other studies have shown that watching a relaxing comedy
film, where our thoughts are less negative than in the horror film, reduces the
levels of stress hormones in our blood stream. So from this we can see how our
thoughts play a role in stress.
To show how this works the ABC model has been developed and we will now
show you how it works.
A + B = C Model
Most of us tend to think that challenging events occur and they automatically
trigger the fight/flight response, however this is not correct. There is another
stage that happens after the event and influences whether the event will trigger
the fight/flight response. Dr Albert Ellis, founder of a form of talking therapy
called Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (very similar to Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy), identified the role that our thoughts, beliefs and self-talk
play in triggering the fight/flight response. He called this the A+B=C equation.
A = Activating Event
Activating events are the triggers that cause us potential stress. As previously
mentioned in Session 1 of this course there are different types of stressors.
There are the Life Event stressors, such as the death of a loved one, which are
fortunately fairly rare; the majority of us would find these life events difficult
and stressful. Then there are the more common stressors called Daily Hassles.
Not everybody exposed to these daily hassles finds them stressful and this is
partly because our individual beliefs, thoughts and perceptions about the daily
hassles will determine if the event is stressful to us or not.
B = Beliefs
When we are born we come into this world with no beliefs, opinions, views or
perceptions. From the moment we can talk and listen we start to learn the
opinions of our parents, our peers, school etc. We automatically start to use
these beliefs as a template to interpret ourselves, other people and the world in
general. The problem is that other people may not necessarily have the same
template, views and beliefs as us. We use our beliefs to interpret what is
happening to us. These beliefs may be accurate, possible, flexible and
optimistic, these types of beliefs and thinking skills can help to reduce stress,
however a lot of beliefs can be in the form of automatic negative thoughts and
if they are rigid, negative, inflexible and pessimistic then this can exacerbate
any stress we are under. Fortunately it is possible to change our beliefs and so
reduce our stress, the skills to do this are in Session 5.
C = Consequences
The final part of the A+B=C equation is Consequences. Consequences refer to
the feelings that occur as a consequence of our beliefs and self-talk in response
to the activating event. The consequences can be in the form of stress, anxiety,
depression, anger, irritability, aggression, fear, worry, and frustration etc.